Nomograms for colorectal cancer:A systematic review

AIM: To assist in the selection of suitable nomograms for obtaining desired predictions in daily clinicalpractice.METHODS: We conducted electronic searches for journal articles on colorectal cancer(CRC)-associated nomograms using the search terms colon/rectal/colorectal/nomogram. Of 174 articles initially found, we retrieved 28 studies in which a nomogram for CRC was developed.RESULTS: We discuss the currently available CRCassociated nomograms, including those that predict the oncological prognosis, the short-term outcome of treatments, such as surgery or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and the future development of CRC. Developing nomograms always presents a dilemma. On the one hand, the desire to cover as wide a patient range as possible tends to produce nomograms that are too complex and yet have C-indexes that are not sufficiently high. Conversely, confining the target patients might impair the clinical applicability of constructed nomograms.CONCLUSION: The information provided in this review should be of use in selecting a nomogram suitable for obtaining desired predictions in daily clinical practice.

Breakthrough therapy for peritoneal carcinomatosis of gastric cancer:Intraperitoneal chemotherapy with taxanes

The effect of chemotherapy on peritoneal carcinomatosis(PC) of gastric cancer remains unclear.Recently,the intraperitoneal(IP) administration of taxanes [e.g.,paclitaxel(PTX) and docetaxel(DOC)] during the perioperative period has shown promising results.Herein,we summarized the rationale and methodology for using IP chemotherapy with taxanes and reviewed the clinical results.IP administered taxanes remain in the IP space at an extremely high concentration for 48-72 h.The drug directly infiltrates peritoneal metastatic nodules from the surface and then produces antitumor effects,making it ideal for IP chemotherapy.There are two types of perioperative IP chemotherapy with taxanes: neoadjuvant intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy and sequential perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy(SPIC).In SPIC,patients receive neoadjuvant IP chemotherapy and the same regimen of IP chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery(CRS) until disease progression.Usually,a taxane dissolved in 500-1000 m L of saline at ordinary temperature is administered through an IP access port on an outpatient basis.According to phase Ⅰ?studies,the recommended doses(RD) are as follows: IP DOC,45-60 mg/m2; IP PTX [without intravenous(IV) PTX],80 mg/m2; and IP PTX(with IV PTX),20 mg/m2.Phase Ⅱ studies have reported a median survival time of 14.4-24.6 mo with a 1-year overall survival of 67%-78%.A phase Ⅲ study comparing S-1 in combination with IP and IV PTX to S-1 with IV cisplatin started in 2011.The prognosis of patients who underwent CRS was better than that of those who did not; however,this was partly due to selection bias.Although several phase Ⅱ studies have shown promising results,a randomized controlled study is needed to validate the effectiveness of IP chemotherapy with taxanes for PC of gastric cancer.